Bridge replacement promises serious weekend backups on I-84

Updated 10:31 pm, Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Cars pass by construction crews working on the new bridge on I-84, just across the state line in Brewster, N.Y. on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013. The existing bridge over Dingle Road will be demolished and a new prefabricated bridge will be put in its place this weekend. I-84 westbound will be closed for much of the weekend because of the construction. less

Cars pass by construction crews working on the new bridge on I-84, just across the state line in Brewster, N.Y. on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013. The existing bridge over Dingle Road will be demolished and a new ... more

Construction crews work on the new bridge on I-84, just across the border in Brewster, N.Y. on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013. The existing bridge over Dingle Road will be demolished and a new prefabricated bridge will be put in its place this weekend. I-84 westbound will be closed for much of the weekend because of the construction. less

Construction crews work on the new bridge on I-84, just across the border in Brewster, N.Y. on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013. The existing bridge over Dingle Road will be demolished and a new prefabricated bridge ... more

Construction crews work on the new bridge on I-84, just across the border in Brewster, N.Y. on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013. The existing bridge over Dingle Road will be demolished and a new prefabricated bridge will be put in its place this weekend. I-84 westbound will be closed for much of the weekend because of the construction. less

Construction crews work on the new bridge on I-84, just across the border in Brewster, N.Y. on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013. The existing bridge over Dingle Road will be demolished and a new prefabricated bridge ... more

SOUTHEAST, N.Y. -- There's nothing like a cool September weekend to take on a project, whether it's cleaning up the yard, fixing a few things around the house or, say, replacing a two-lane bridge on busy Interstate 84.

That's the chore contractors working for the New York Department of Transportation intend to cross off their list Saturday afternoon, but it will lead to the closure of the interstate's westbound lanes at Exit 1 in Danbury and a roughly four-mile detour that is expected to create substantial traffic backups through Sunday.

Danbury police issued a statement this week advising motorists to consider alternate routes around the interstate to help reduce what promises to be a congested day not just on I-84 but throughout town.

Beginning Saturday, the detour will lead vehicles off I-84 west at Exit 1 and onto Route 6, which they will follow for about four miles before being diverted back onto the interstate at Exit 20 in New York. A similar detour will be instituted when the eastbound bridge is replaced in October.

While the detour is in place, Route 6 will be limited to one lane in each direction and drivers will be prohibited from making left turns onto it in an effort to reduce backups.

Danbury police and the New York DOT recommend planning extra time into any trips through the area or choosing another route altogether.

But for the 18 hours of brake lights and blaring horns, the "slide" construction method employed in the replacement will cut down the project's length by at least a year, officials said.

If you count yourself among the 75,000 commuters who cross the bridge over Dingle Ridge Road in the town of Southeast, N.Y., on an average weekday, you may have noticed the two extra bridges alongside the existing spans.

Yonkers Contracting Inc. of Westchester County, N.Y., will literally slide one bridge along the westbound lanes into place after demolishing the existing bridge once its lanes are closed at 5 p.m. Saturday.

The eastbound bridge will receive the same treatment the weekend of Oct. 19.

"We've never done this just sliding the entire bridge right in," said Carol Breen, a spokesperson for the New York DOT.

Though the demolition of the old westbound bridge and the installation of the new one will take only about 18 hours between Saturday and Sunday, the entire project -- which cost $10.2 million -- will have taken about one year once all of the residual cleanup and landscaping work is completed in January.

In June, crews started building foundations for the new bridges and pre-cast beams were shipped in and assembled alongside the old bridges. Once the westbound bridge is slid into place Saturday, the approaches to it will be paved and the new bridge will open up.

Ordinarily, a bridge replacement project would have taken at least one year per bridge, Breen said, as traditional construction methods would have included the construction of temporary bridges to divert traffic while the new permanent bridge is completed.

The trade-off for the quick construction is the temporary closure of the entire side of the highway this weekend.